inspire
part of speech
verb (inspire, inspires, inspired, inspiring)
meaning for a pupil
1) To inspire someone means to give them the wish and the energy to do something good or creative. tree →
2) To inspire a feeling means to make people feel it: «inspire confidence», «inspire fear». tree →
3) If something inspired a story, picture or invention, it gave the idea for it. tree →
4) (science, rare) To inspire means to breathe in. tree →
sense in the lessons
In school it is used for role models, books and trips: «Her talk inspired us to recycle». In art and writing lessons pupils say what inspired their work. In stories heroes inspire others. Related: inspiration, inspiring, inspired. Phrases: «inspire someone to do something», «inspired by».
examples
- The astronaut's visit inspired me to study science. tree →
- Her bravery inspires us all. tree →
- The story was inspired by a real shipwreck. tree →
- Good teachers inspire their pupils. tree →
- The music inspired her to dance. tree →
- The captain's calm voice inspired confidence. tree →
- What inspired you to write this poem? tree →
note
Regular verb: inspired. Noun: inspiration; adjectives: inspiring (gives inspiration), inspired (very clever or creative: «an inspired idea»). Pattern: «inspire someone to do something». Opposite of the breathing sense: expire (breathe out), though «expire» usually means to end.
In the corpora
- Being inspired means using an idea or style in something new; copying means taking the actual picture.
- A black bear at London Zoo called Winnipeg inspired the name of Winnie-the-Pooh.
- There is a real Chinese martial art called Praying Mantis style, said to have been inspired by watching a mantis fight.
- Some people think the golden takin's shining coat inspired the Greek legend of the Golden Fleece.
- The Bible's story of the Tower of Babel was probably inspired by a real ziggurat in Babylon.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «inspire» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.